Education

Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Leiden, the Netherlands, 2001-2005

Masters in Research Methodology and Statistics, University of Leiden, 1996-2001

Masters in Clinical Psychology, University of Leiden, 1997-2000

Research Interests

My research program is about the neurobiological mechanisms of psychopathology. My current research examines the impact of early adversity and serotonergic genes on the development of the serotonin system, functioning of the frontal-limbic neural circuitry and risk for mental disorders (in particular, mood and impulse control disorders as well as eating disorders).

My other research interests involve the role of serotonin in emotional processing and in cognitive vulnerability to depression. The methods I use in my research program are a combination of epidemiology and experimental research and include neuroimaging (fMRI/PET), genetics, epigenetics and behavioural/cognitive measures.

Awards and Distinctions

Canadian Institutes of Health Research - New Investigator Salary Award, 2014-2018

Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology - Young Investigator Award, May 2013

Marie Gaumond award for young researchers working on affective disorders, 2011

Presentations

Grand rounds, Dept. of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, April 10 2015. The role of Serotonin in psychopathology: Lessons from developmental neuroscience.

Cercle d’étude, Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université de Montréal, April 17 2015. The role of early stress in physical and mental health problems: underlying biological mechanisms and relevance for oral health problems.

Brain Research Foundation Symposium 2014: Gene-Environment transactions in developmental psychopathology: Role in intervention research, United States, Illinois, September 11-12 2014. What is the current knowledge about chronic physical aggression with respect to both Gene-environment interactions and interventions?

29th World Congress for Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), Vancouver, June 25 2014. Peripheral SLC6A4 methylation: relevance for brain development and risk for depression. Symposium: Serotonin, stress and depression: Genetic and epigenetic factors.

World Congress on Brain, Behavior and Emotions, Montreal, April 7 2014. Early environmental influences on the development of the brain: role of epigenetic processes and risk for psychopathology.

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre. August 15 2013. The role of serotonin in mental health problems: lessons from developmental neuroscience.

Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology, May 2013. Young Investigators Award lecture. Genetic and Early Environmental Influences on the Serotonin System: Consequences for Brain Development and Risk for Mental Illness.

Genetic and early environmental influences on the serotonin system: Consequences for brain development and risk for psychopathology. Booij L, Tremblay RE, Szyf M, Benkelfat C. Genetic and early environmental influences on the serotonin system: Consequences for brain development and risk for psychopathology. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 2015; 40(1): 5-18.